Phase Change MattersThe <a href="/stories/entropy-solutions-blog-newsletter-win-pr-news-awards">award-winning</a> Phase Change Matters blog tracks the latest news and research on phase change materials and thermal energy storage. E-mail tips and comments to <a href="http://www.puretemp.com/stories/ben-welter">Ben Welter</a>, communications director at Entropy Solutions. Follow the blog on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/puretemp">@PureTemp</a>. Subscribe to the weekly <a href="/stories/subscribe">PCM newsletter</a>. Or join the discussion on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6953237">LinkedIn</a>.<br />http://www.puretemp.com/Sat, 06 Jun 2020 19:38:19 GMThttp://backend.userland.com/rssRSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/PCM briefing: Ph.D. opening at University of Twente; Denver thermal conference moves online• The University of Twente, Netherlands, has an opening for a four-year Ph.D. position in phase change materials for heat storage. "This research project will try to introduce a smart composite material which can store the heat for both short and long-term storage time," according to the posting. "This smart material will be based on inorganic salt hydrates having controllable discharging speed which is very advantageous for future smart heat batteries." The starting salary is 2,325 euros per month, plus an annual 8.3% year-end bonus.
• Because of uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Advancements in Thermal Management conference, scheduled for Aug. 6-7 in Denver, will be held as a virtual event on the same dates. According to the conference website: "Thermal 2020 presentations will be webcast with live slide presentations, audio, and real-time Q&A. Attendees may revisit these presentations after the event via recordings delivered directly to them. Exhibit booths feature rich, virtual profiles. Networking is done all-day via video conference rooms and though scheduled 1x1 meetings." A full conference pass costs $295 through June 12. • Peli BioThermal says air ambulance crews in Europe are transporting blood products via the company's Credo ProMed transport bags. The temperature-controlled bags are designed to protect blood products needed for transfusions at emergency scenes. • Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are working to integrate a new thermal energy storage technology within CHP systems from Capstone Turbine Corp. to boost heat recovery. In the Argonne system, high-temperature PCMs are embedded within highly thermally conductive foam. The foam is then sealed with inert gas inside a module, preventing moisture or oxygen from getting inside and degrading the components.http://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1042790&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252fpcm-briefing-208http://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/pcm-briefing-208Mon, 11 May 2020 05:00:00 GMT• The University of Twente, Netherlands, has an opening for a four-year Ph.D. position in phase change materials for heat storage. "This research project will try to introduce a smart composite material which can store the heat for both short and long-term storage time," according to the posting. "This smart material will be based on inorganic salt hydrates having controllable discharging speed which is very advantageous for future smart heat batteries." The starting salary is 2,325 euros per month, plus an annual 8.3% year-end bonus.

• Because of uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Advancements in Thermal Management conference, scheduled for Aug. 6-7 in Denver, will be held as a virtual event on the same dates. According to the conference website: "Thermal 2020 presentations will be webcast with live slide presentations, audio, and real-time Q&A. Attendees may revisit these presentations after the event via recordings delivered directly to them. Exhibit booths feature rich, virtual profiles. Networking is done all-day via video conference rooms and though scheduled 1x1 meetings." A full conference pass costs $295 through June 12.

• Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are working to integrate a new thermal energy storage technology within CHP systems from Capstone Turbine Corp. to boost heat recovery. In the Argonne system, high-temperature PCMs are embedded within highly thermally conductive foam. The foam is then sealed with inert gas inside a module, preventing moisture or oxygen from getting inside and degrading the components.

]]>Phase Energy announces a new shape-stable PCMPhase Energy Ltd. has announced the development of shape-stable technology for organic wax-based PCMs.
The company, based in Hull, United Kingdom, said a tetradecane-based shape-stable material would typically contain more than 90% PCM; the new technology has achieved levels of up to 96%. "Initial tests indicate that little, if any, enthalpy is lost, possibly due to the very low level of additives required," the company said.
The technology was jointly developed with Rainer Busch of IBC Europe, Germany. "So far, the technology has been used for paraffins, esters etc. and on a range of PCMs with [melt points] of up to 53 degrees Centigrade," Phase Energy said in a LinkedIn post. "The technology permits the production of leak-resistant packs/pouches using very simple process technology." "We’re currently working with some companies in the cold chain area; looking at cold packs/pouches, pallet covers etc.," Ian Biggin, director at Phase Energy, said in an e-mail. "As the technology can be adapted to higher temperature PCMs we are also interested in those areas as well but we decided that cold chain was the obvious place to start." The photo below illustrates the material's flexibility. According to the company, it "shows a shape stable sample, 100 x 30 x 12mm, containing 92% tetradecane and 8% additives, being stretched to >700mm. When released the sample returned to its original size." http://phase-energy.com/new-shape-stable-pcm-development/http://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1043131&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252fphase-energy-develops-a-new-shape-stable-pcmhttp://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/phase-energy-develops-a-new-shape-stable-pcmMon, 11 May 2020 05:00:00 GMTPhase Energy Ltd. has announced the development of shape-stable technology for organic wax-based PCMs.

The company, based in Hull, United Kingdom, said a tetradecane-based shape-stable material would typically contain more than 90% PCM; the new technology has achieved levels of up to 96%. "Initial tests indicate that little, if any, enthalpy is lost, possibly due to the very low level of additives required," the company said.

The technology was jointly developed with Rainer Busch of IBC Europe, Germany.

"So far, the technology has been used for paraffins, esters etc. and on a range of PCMs with [melt points] of up to 53 degrees Centigrade," Phase Energy said in a LinkedIn post. "The technology permits the production of leak-resistant packs/pouches using very simple process technology."

"We’re currently working with some companies in the cold chain area; looking at cold packs/pouches, pallet covers etc.," Ian Biggin, director at Phase Energy, said in an e-mail. "As the technology can be adapted to higher temperature PCMs we are also interested in those areas as well but we decided that cold chain was the obvious place to start."

The photo below illustrates the material's flexibility. According to the company, it "shows a shape stable sample, 100 x 30 x 12mm, containing 92% tetradecane and 8% additives, being stretched to >700mm. When released the sample returned to its original size."

]]>INUTEQ donates hundreds of cooling vests to Dutch hospitalsHundreds of INUTEQ cooling vests developed for use by Dutch athletes at the Tokyo Olympics this summer have been donated for use in Dutch hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The PCM-equipped pullovers, designed to help athletes cope with heat stress, became available when the Tokyo Games were postponed until 2021. The pullovers can be worn under the heavy, heat-trapping protective gear used by doctors and nurses.
The pullovers are manufactured in Netherlands. The cooling material is Croda's CrodaTherm 21, a biobased PCM with a melting temperature of 21 degrees C. The 1.3-kg pullover is a simple "one-size-fits-most" garment, with two adjustable buckles and no fabric shell. “Doctors and nurses at the ICU, who are treating corona patients, can work comfortably for up to three hours longer thanks to this cooling vest," said Dr. Thijs Eijsvogels, physiologist at Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen. "The cooling vests ensure a stable body temperature, less sweating, maintenance of concentration and a faster recovery after each intensive work session.”
The pullover is marketed as "PCM CoolOver" on the INUTEQ website. It can be worn "under military combat gear, hazardous materials suits, mascot costumes and other professional apparel." https://inuteq.com/pcm-coolover-medical-nl/pcm-coolover-medical-eng/http://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1043174&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252finuteq-donates-hundreds-of-cooling-vests-to-dutch-hospitalshttp://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/inuteq-donates-hundreds-of-cooling-vests-to-dutch-hospitalsMon, 11 May 2020 05:00:00 GMTHundreds of INUTEQ cooling vests developed for use by Dutch athletes at the Tokyo Olympics this summer have been donated for use in Dutch hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PCM-equipped pullovers, designed to help athletes cope with heat stress, became available when the Tokyo Games were postponed until 2021. The pullovers can be worn under the heavy, heat-trapping protective gear used by doctors and nurses.

The pullovers are manufactured in Netherlands. The cooling material is Croda's CrodaTherm 21, a biobased PCM with a melting temperature of 21 degrees C. The 1.3-kg pullover is a simple "one-size-fits-most" garment, with two adjustable buckles and no fabric shell.

“Doctors and nurses at the ICU, who are treating corona patients, can work comfortably for up to three hours longer thanks to this cooling vest," said Dr. Thijs Eijsvogels, physiologist at Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen. "The cooling vests ensure a stable body temperature, less sweating, maintenance of concentration and a faster recovery after each intensive work session.”

The pullover is marketed as "PCM CoolOver" on the INUTEQ website. It can be worn "under military combat gear, hazardous materials suits, mascot costumes and other professional apparel."

"A method of manufacturing a polyurethane phase-change composition comprises forming a curable composition comprising a homogeneous mixture of an organic isocyanate, a polyol having a hydroxyl functionality of 1.5 to 5, and a phase-change material; and curing the curable composition to obtain a polyurethane phase-change composition, wherein the polyurethane phase-change composition has a transition temperature, determined by differential scanning calorimetry according to ASTM D3418, of 5 to 70° C."

]]>Patent application: Thermal management systems including multiple phase changing materialsU.S. patent application 20200136209 (applicant Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc., Plano, Texas):
"A battery module including a battery cell and a thermal management system for removing heat from the battery cell. The thermal management system includes two or more unit cells in an array. Each unit cell includes a primary shell comprising a primary phase change material (PCM), and a secondary shell comprising a secondary PCM that is thermally coupled to the primary shell. The battery cell is thermally coupled to the primary shell at a heat transfer interface and the secondary shells of adjacent unit cells in the array are separate."
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200136209.pdfhttp://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1043176&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252fpatent-application-thermal-management-systems-including-multiple-phase-changing-materialshttp://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/patent-application-thermal-management-systems-including-multiple-phase-changing-materialsSun, 10 May 2020 05:00:00 GMTU.S. patent application 20200136209 (applicant Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc., Plano, Texas):

"A battery module including a battery cell and a thermal management system for removing heat from the battery cell. The thermal management system includes two or more unit cells in an array. Each unit cell includes a primary shell comprising a primary phase change material (PCM), and a secondary shell comprising a secondary PCM that is thermally coupled to the primary shell. The battery cell is thermally coupled to the primary shell at a heat transfer interface and the secondary shells of adjacent unit cells in the array are separate."

]]>Patent application: Cosmetic holographic wearable ocular devicesU.S. patent application 20200132897 (applicant TruIris LLC, Columbus, Ohio):
"Wearable ocular devices (such as ocular prostheses or contact lenses) utilizing diffraction gratings to produce color, as well as methods for producing such devices, are provided. A diffraction grating on the device may diffract the incident light to the observer. The result may be colored light that appears to originate from the wearer's eyes. The diffraction grating may achieve a look or feeling that is qualitatively or quantitatively different from the look or feeling achieved by previous devices that use dyes or inks."
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200132897.pdf
More U.S. patent applications: Temperature management bedding systems | Graphene oxide aerogel beads | Thermal material with high capacity and high conductivity | Self-healing metal structures | Heat exchanger for three fluids | Steam power plant | Lightweight thermal batteryhttp://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1043177&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252fpatent-application-cosmetic-holographic-wearable-ocular-deviceshttp://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/patent-application-cosmetic-holographic-wearable-ocular-devicesSun, 10 May 2020 05:00:00 GMTU.S. patent application 20200132897 (applicant TruIris LLC, Columbus, Ohio):

"Wearable ocular devices (such as ocular prostheses or contact lenses) utilizing diffraction gratings to produce color, as well as methods for producing such devices, are provided. A diffraction grating on the device may diffract the incident light to the observer. The result may be colored light that appears to originate from the wearer's eyes. The diffraction grating may achieve a look or feeling that is qualitatively or quantitatively different from the look or feeling achieved by previous devices that use dyes or inks."

]]>PCM briefing: EnergyNest is finalist for startup award; Croda website offers live chat• EnergyNest is one of 15 start-ups nominated as finalists of the Start Up Energy Transition Award 2020. EnergyNest's thermal battery consists of steel cassettes with pipes encased in a special type of concrete. The Norwegian company announced earlier this year that an EnergyNest battery with a capacity of 6-8 MWh would be installed at a brick manufacturing plant in Austria.
• "T-History Simplified: Combining a Universal Standard with an IoT Strategy," presented by Madison Hammerberg, product development engineering manager at CAVU Group, will be among the presentations at the Advancements in Thermal Management conference in Denver, Aug. 6-7, 2020. • Croda now offers live chat on its CrodaTherm website, www.crodatherm.com. The "Chat with a Croda Expert" feature is designed to provide visitors with "instant support." • Terrafore Technologies of Minneapolis is one of 13 companies to be awarded a Launch Minnesota Innovation Grant from the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development. The grants total $344,000; the amounts of individual grants were not disclosed. Terrafore is developing thermal energy storage to provide dispatchable solar power generation to the grid.
• RayGen Resources Pty. Ltd. of Australia has been awarded $3 million AUD toward a feasibility study for a 4 MW “solar hydro” power plant in Victoria. The money will come from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. RayGen's system extracts heat from solar panels and stores it in a water reservoir acting as a heat store. The hot reservoir is paired with cold reservoir chilled by electricity from the solar panels and the grid. The temperature difference powers an Organic Rankine Cycle engine to generate electricity with a round-trip efficiency of 70%.
• The Swedish thermal energy storage company Azelio has completed the installation of "a system that will store solar energy from what is claimed to be the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant project," Energy Storage Journal reports. "The complex [in Morocco] is 2,500 hectares in size, and solar panels cover 1,000 square metres — which means it could potentially harvest a total of 2.6GW a year." The system uses recycled aluminum as the heat storage material.
• Sunamp Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland, has signed a memo of understanding with Ripple Energy, a company that enables customers to part-own large-scale wind farms to power their homes. Under the agreement, Ripple will offer its customers Sunamp heat batteries, which use a specially formulated phase change material to store large amounts of energy from renewable and other sources and release it as heat to deliver hot water and space heating as needed.http://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1041570&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252fpcm-briefing-207http://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/pcm-briefing-207Tue, 24 Mar 2020 05:00:00 GMT• EnergyNest is one of 15 start-ups nominated as finalists of the Start Up Energy Transition Award 2020. EnergyNest's thermal battery consists of steel cassettes with pipes encased in a special type of concrete. The Norwegian company announced earlier this year that an EnergyNest battery with a capacity of 6-8 MWh would be installed at a brick manufacturing plant in Austria.

• Croda now offers live chat on its CrodaTherm website, www.crodatherm.com. The "Chat with a Croda Expert" feature is designed to provide visitors with "instant support."

• Terrafore Technologies of Minneapolis is one of 13 companies to be awarded a Launch Minnesota Innovation Grant from the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development. The grants total $344,000; the amounts of individual grants were not disclosed. Terrafore is developing thermal energy storage to provide dispatchable solar power generation to the grid.

• RayGen Resources Pty. Ltd. of Australia has been awarded $3 million AUD toward a feasibility study for a 4 MW “solar hydro” power plant in Victoria. The money will come from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. RayGen's system extracts heat from solar panels and stores it in a water reservoir acting as a heat store. The hot reservoir is paired with cold reservoir chilled by electricity from the solar panels and the grid. The temperature difference powers an Organic Rankine Cycle engine to generate electricity with a round-trip efficiency of 70%.

• The Swedish thermal energy storage company Azeliohas completed the installation of "a system that will store solar energy from what is claimed to be the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant project," Energy Storage Journal reports. "The complex [in Morocco] is 2,500 hectares in size, and solar panels cover 1,000 square metres — which means it could potentially harvest a total of 2.6GW a year." The system uses recycled aluminum as the heat storage material.

• Sunamp Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland, has signed a memo of understanding with Ripple Energy, a company that enables customers to part-own large-scale wind farms to power their homes. Under the agreement, Ripple will offer its customers Sunamp heat batteries, which use a specially formulated phase change material to store large amounts of energy from renewable and other sources and release it as heat to deliver hot water and space heating as needed.

]]>Patent application: Oil-in-water macro-emulsion process for forming solid gel beadsU.S. patent application 20200071586 (applicant Microtek Laboratories, Dayton, Ohio): "Solid gel beads formed from a gel product of a 5 carbon to 60 carbon alkane phase change material, 5 carbon to 60 carbon alkene phase change material, or a combination thereof and a styrene-based polymer are homogeneous, has an uneven exterior surface, and a major axis length in a range of 1000 μm to 100 mm. Methods for making the solid gel bead include providing water having a preselected temperature based on a linear relationship to the melting point of a phase change material composition, mixing the phase change material composition with the styrene-based polymer at or below the preselected temperature with stirring to form a pulp, and mixing the pulp into the water with turbulent mixing while maintaining the temperature of the mixture at the preselected temperature."
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200071586.pdfhttp://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1043178&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252foil-in-water-macro-emulsion-process-for-forming-solid-gel-beadshttp://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/oil-in-water-macro-emulsion-process-for-forming-solid-gel-beadsTue, 24 Mar 2020 05:00:00 GMTU.S. patent application 20200071586 (applicant Microtek Laboratories, Dayton, Ohio):

"Solid gel beads formed from a gel product of a 5 carbon to 60 carbon alkane phase change material, 5 carbon to 60 carbon alkene phase change material, or a combination thereof and a styrene-based polymer are homogeneous, has an uneven exterior surface, and a major axis length in a range of 1000 μm to 100 mm. Methods for making the solid gel bead include providing water having a preselected temperature based on a linear relationship to the melting point of a phase change material composition, mixing the phase change material composition with the styrene-based polymer at or below the preselected temperature with stirring to form a pulp, and mixing the pulp into the water with turbulent mixing while maintaining the temperature of the mixture at the preselected temperature."

]]>Patent application: Thermal energy storage apparatusU.S. patent application 20200088473 (applicant Climate Change Technologies Pty. Ltd., Wayville, Australia):
"A thermal energy storage apparatus, including: a block of a heat-absorbing material, the block defining at least one receptacle and being a contiguous block of compressed sintered graphite; and a phase change material stored in the or each receptacle, the phase change material being one that expands as it cools, wherein separation of side walls of the or each receptacle progressively increases as they extend upwardly from the base, whereby as the phase change material solidifies and expands it is urged upwardly to reduce pressure applied to the heat-absorbing material."
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200088473.pdfhttp://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1043179&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252fpatent-application-thermal-energy-storage-apparatus-1http://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/patent-application-thermal-energy-storage-apparatus-1Tue, 24 Mar 2020 05:00:00 GMTU.S. patent application 20200088473 (applicant Climate Change Technologies Pty. Ltd., Wayville, Australia):

"A thermal energy storage apparatus, including: a block of a heat-absorbing material, the block defining at least one receptacle and being a contiguous block of compressed sintered graphite; and a phase change material stored in the or each receptacle, the phase change material being one that expands as it cools, wherein separation of side walls of the or each receptacle progressively increases as they extend upwardly from the base, whereby as the phase change material solidifies and expands it is urged upwardly to reduce pressure applied to the heat-absorbing material."

"This invention relates to a novel two-stage dry ice system for preserving perishable items during transport and methods thereof. The improved two-stage dry ice system includes dry ice and a phase change material specifically configured within a single and continuous holding volume with perishable items. Preservation of the perishable items for extended durations in comparison to other refrigeration techniques can be achieved as a result of the two-stage dry system having the ability to re-orient itself during transport."

]]>Chinese manufacturer joins RAL Quality Association PCMHangzhou Ruhr New Material Technology Co. of Hangzhou City, China, has joined the RAL Quality Association PCM. The company, known as RuhrTech, develops phase change materials and PCM products for use in food and pharmaceuticals packaging; cooling and temperature control in the fields of electronic devices and power batteries; and energy-saving applications for central air conditioning, cold storage and buildings. Its cold-chain packaging customers include Johnson & Johnson, Allergan and Lilly.
Dr. Li Huang, one of the company's founders, is looking forward to "fruitful cooperation" with RAL members.
Stefan Thomann, the association's managing director, said: "I am delighted to welcome yet another ambitious company in our association that is committed to quality and commercially successful with PCM. RuhrTech will undoubtedly manage to tap into new markets and applications where PCM can play a positive and beneficial role.”
The RAL Quality Association PCM was established in 2004 to develop standards for the PCM industry. Members include Axiotherm, Microtek Laboratories, Rubitherm, Croda Europe, va-Q-tec, PCM Technology, Global-Systems Europe, Sasol, Sunamp Ltd., Pluss Advanced Technologies and PureTemp LLC.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the association's next assembly will be held as a web conference on April 1. The association's fall assembly is scheduled for Oct. 28, 2020, in Dusseldorf, Germany. More than a dozen representatives of member companies and monitoring institutes took part in last fall's assembly. Here's a group photo: Back row, from left: Bernd Boiting, FH Münster/Axiotherm; Thomas Haussmann, ISE; Stefan Thomann, RAL Quality Association PCM managing director; Michael Brütting, ZAE; Andreas Laube, w&a; Gerard Oortman, PCM Technology. Front two rows, from left: Jan van Acquoij, Pluss Advanced Technologies; Ben Welter, PureTemp LLC; Kate Fisher, Sunamp; Matthias Maywald, Sasol; Marco Auerbach, Croda; Thomas Wollheim, va-Q-tec; Harald Mehling, PCM consultant; Tim Riazzi, Microtek Laboratories; Esther Kieseritzky, Rubitherm; Claudia Friedrich, RAL Quality Association PCM.http://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1042425&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252fchinese-manufacturer-joins-ral-quality-association-pcmhttp://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/chinese-manufacturer-joins-ral-quality-association-pcmMon, 23 Mar 2020 05:00:00 GMTHangzhou Ruhr New Material Technology Co. of Hangzhou City, China, has joined the RAL Quality Association PCM.

The company, known as RuhrTech, develops phase change materials and PCM products for use in food and pharmaceuticals packaging; cooling and temperature control in the fields of electronic devices and power batteries; and energy-saving applications for central air conditioning, cold storage and buildings. Its cold-chain packaging customers include Johnson & Johnson, Allergan and Lilly.

Dr. Li Huang, one of the company's founders, is looking forward to "fruitful cooperation" with RAL members.

Stefan Thomann, the association's managing director, said: "I am delighted to welcome yet another ambitious company in our association that is committed to quality and commercially successful with PCM. RuhrTech will undoubtedly manage to tap into new markets and applications where PCM can play a positive and beneficial role.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the association's next assembly will be held as a web conference on April 1. The association's fall assembly is scheduled for Oct. 28, 2020, in Dusseldorf, Germany. More than a dozen representatives of member companies and monitoring institutes took part in last fall's assembly. Here's a group photo:

• Shape-stabilization of polyethylene glycol phase change materials with chitin nanofibers for applications in “smart” windows]]>Cubesat propulsion concept wins $225,000 National Science Foundation grantA Cubesat propulsion system that uses phase change material to store solar thermal energy for use when needed has been awarded a $225,000 National Science Foundation SBIR grant. The ThermaSat concept, developed by Howe Industries of Tempe, Ariz., is designed to provide propulsion for a typical 15kg cubcubesat for 10 years. Cubesats are tiny satellites — weighing as little as 200 grams — that orbit close to Earth’s atmosphere. They are cheaper to develop and launch than larger satellites. Cubesats have a wide range of purposes, including the collection of mapping and weather data. More than 1,100 have been successfully deployed. Troy Howe, owner of Howe Industries, answered questions about the ThermaSat propulsion system. Q: How long has your company been working on the concept? A: "We have been working on this topic for only about a year in preparation for our NSF proposal, but have experience with optical systems and phase change materials going back about five years." Q: Can you briefly describe how the system works? A: "The ThermaSat works by heating liquid water propellant to high temperature steam using incident sunlight. Normally, it is difficult to reach high enough temperatures to use water as propellant, but our optical filtration system is designed to reject long wavelengths of light and only transmit short wavelengths- similar to the greenhouse effect. The phase change materials in the thermal capacitor store the solar energy over a period of hours and then heat the propellant during a 'burn' phase. "The PCM will be distributed throughout a graphite matrix in the form of small beads. Flow channels will run axially down the length of the cylinder for the propellant to pass through. The design is based loosely on the old NERVA fuel elements from the nuclear rocket program in the 1970s, with the UC kernels being replaced with our PCM. The drawing here shows a cutaway of the thermal capacitor surrounded by the optical system.
"The system is very conceptual at this point and has not been tested, although the propulsion characteristics are well understood. Our task at this point is to show that the optical system works as predicted and can reach the desired temperatures. Phase II will address the effects of a vacuum environment on a prototype." Q: What type of PCM is used? A: "We chose a salt (80LiOH+20LiF) as our PCM, it melts at 700K and has a latent heat of fusion of 1163 J/g. The material was selected based on a study performed by NASA in 1986 on space energy storage. The paper was called 'Technology for Brayton-Cycle Space Powerplants Using Solar and Nuclear Energy' by Robert English."" Q: How much PCM would be used in a system powering a typical Cubesat? A: "The standard design includes 0.62 kg of PCM. " Q: Are you working with any Cubesat manufacturers at this point? A: "We received letters of interest from Pumpkin Space Systems, Aster Labs, and Arizona State University. They all expressed interest in having a safe and reliable Cubesat propulsion system but we have not formally formed collaboration with any manufacturers at this point.” Q: How will you use the NSF SBIR grant? A: "Our goals for this topic include demonstrating the optical system in a lab bench test, fabricating photonic crystals, and performing computational analysis on the thermal, structural, and propulsion systems." Q: What's the next major step in commercializing the system? A: "Our commercialization strategy right now is to build a functioning prototype and demonstrate operation on earth. From that point we will aim to do a flight test which performs a set of orbital maneuvers and successfully de-orbits itself. From there we will work with Cubesat manufacturers to move forward." Q: What excites you most about this project? A: "We are excited about how near term and effective this technology will be for the upcoming Cubesat revolution. We hope to provide a safe, reliable, and effective propulsion solution that can be used with thousands of different satellites and drastically increase the performance of new technologies in space in the timeframe of just a few years.”http://www.puretemp.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=19721&A=Link&ObjectID=1041544&ObjectType=56&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.puretemp.com%252fpcmatters%252fcubesat-propulsion-concept-wins-225-000-national-science-foundation-granthttp://www.puretemp.com/pcmatters/cubesat-propulsion-concept-wins-225-000-national-science-foundation-grantFri, 14 Feb 2020 06:00:00 GMTA Cubesat propulsion system that uses phase change material to store solar thermal energy for use when needed has been awarded a $225,000 National Science Foundation SBIR grant. The ThermaSat concept, developed by Howe Industries of Tempe, Ariz., is designed to provide propulsion for a typical 15kg cubcubesat for 10 years.

Cubesats are tiny satellites — weighing as little as 200 grams — that orbit close to Earth’s atmosphere. They are cheaper to develop and launch than larger satellites. Cubesats have a wide range of purposes, including the collection of mapping and weather data. More than 1,100 have been successfully deployed.

A: "We have been working on this topic for only about a year in preparation for our NSF proposal, but have experience with optical systems and phase change materials going back about five years."

Q: Can you briefly describe how the system works?

A: "The ThermaSat works by heating liquid water propellant to high temperature steam using incident sunlight. Normally, it is difficult to reach high enough temperatures to use water as propellant, but our optical filtration system is designed to reject long wavelengths of light and only transmit short wavelengths- similar to the greenhouse effect. The phase change materials in the thermal capacitor store the solar energy over a period of hours and then heat the propellant during a 'burn' phase.

"The PCM will be distributed throughout a graphite matrix in the form of small beads. Flow channels will run axially down the length of the cylinder for the propellant to pass through. The design is based loosely on the old NERVA fuel elements from the nuclear rocket program in the 1970s, with the UC kernels being replaced with our PCM. The drawing here shows a cutaway of the thermal capacitor surrounded by the optical system.

"The system is very conceptual at this point and has not been tested, although the propulsion characteristics are well understood. Our task at this point is to show that the optical system works as predicted and can reach the desired temperatures. Phase II will address the effects of a vacuum environment on a prototype."

A: "We received letters of interest from Pumpkin Space Systems, Aster Labs, and Arizona State University. They all expressed interest in having a safe and reliable Cubesat propulsion system but we have not formally formed collaboration with any manufacturers at this point.”

Q: How will you use the NSF SBIR grant?

A: "Our goals for this topic include demonstrating the optical system in a lab bench test, fabricating photonic crystals, and performing computational analysis on the thermal, structural, and propulsion systems."

Q: What's the next major step in commercializing the system?

A: "Our commercialization strategy right now is to build a functioning prototype and demonstrate operation on earth. From that point we will aim to do a flight test which performs a set of orbital maneuvers and successfully de-orbits itself. From there we will work with Cubesat manufacturers to move forward."

Q: What excites you most about this project?

A: "We are excited about how near term and effective this technology will be for the upcoming Cubesat revolution. We hope to provide a safe, reliable, and effective propulsion solution that can be used with thousands of different satellites and drastically increase the performance of new technologies in space in the timeframe of just a few years.”